November 6, 2012

A lot of big budget movies get a big budget marketing plan. Avengers had one, but it became mostly popular through mouth to mouth propaganda till it was everywhere. The Lord of the Rings was pretty famous with several TV-Clips and documentation about it. But Skyfall is different. It has such a big marketing budget that it is nearly everywhere. There are so many posters and billboard that you could believe Germans would decorate their houses with them. There is even a title song that made it to the charts. TV shows send non-stop commercial about "How to be like James Bond". Even though it runs in 8 different auditoriums at the same time and that in just 1 movie theater i couldn't get a good place till Monday. Thats ridiculous how many people want to see it and it isn't even in 3D. But with a great hype comes a great responsibility. Can it live up to it? See for yourself.

The story
begins with a chase like it were in the prequels before, but with a twist at
the end, which isn't necessary for the plot. The chase is set in Istanbul, the favorite
city if Ian Fleming himself. We see Bond and another agent chasing a criminal
through the streets with cars, motorcycles and of course on decks of a train. Nothing
really new happened but at least it was great pictured. Afterwards the slow parts take over, in
which bond behave like a broken person who lives to die. reckless and broken
like it happened in Batman, Die Hard and many others, but never in Bond. The
almighty hero grew old. now he is a relic of the past, like the cold war and
agent themselves. in the present the agents are hacker who control the world by
simply pressing a key. One of these geniuses is the "new"
introduced character Q. Whenever he and Bond meet it ends ridiculously funny. They
like water and fire, but they are I need of each other. They make a hell lot of
jokes about old traditions, like old gadgets as the explosive pencil,
symbolizing that these kind of things are now in the past. I won't reveal why
but they manage to turn back a bit to their traditional routes, which makes
this flick a bit more Bond like then its prequels.

The movie
goes on and on and switches a couple of times between fast paced action and slow dialogs
scenes with a grain of humor till you begin to think: “When will the big showdown actually happen? Wait! Where is the villain? Hey brain, did they show him for a second or as a silhouette? And then it happens. In bright colors shines a big pause screen and you reached
the end if the first half. Wait! What? A half is already over? It could have
been nearly a movie itself and the villain wasn't even introduced yet!? I'm curious if this works... and it did.

The second
half changes all of the rules and begins with the villain and his crazy fucked
up mind plays, which were incredibly acted and staged. The villain itself is
pure genius, but has a huge fault. He is a 1:1 copy of the Joker in The Dark Knight,
which could be the reason why I really liked Skyfall. None the less it was fun
to watch him being crazy. It all ends with a big Bond typical showdown, which
is predictable since the beginning. But that doesn't harm the movie at all,
because the scene is heartwarming and so important for the character Bond himself,
which the next two installments will build on directly. It’s the start of a
trilogy and my guess is that it will be the last two films with Craig as Bond, but we will see…

All the Actors
performed well with high remarks to Danial Craig and Javier Bardem. The true
star of the movie are the pictures themselves. Sam Mendez created so many
unique and incredible scenes. It feels like that not only the story grow but also
the epicness of the movie itself got expanded. Bigger landscapes, more places,
iconic setting and a Bond who was never as human like as before. The movie had
many traditional references but is now fully updated. No wonder that Sam Mendez
will direct the next ones, because he seems to be the perfect fit.The vfx for
smoke and explosion looked incredible, the few ones for animals looked instead
like the beginning of the last decade. Another unsatisfying point is the length
of the first half, which could be cut for at least 30%. That would have to help
the movie, because it feels long. not in the boring way but more like:
"How many years have passed? Oh great! I grew a beard while watching and
my legs are stiff."

The movie is
a different kind of bond as the prequels were. the ones who loved the old ones
won't like it and the success says they won't
get one like that anytime soon. Everyone else who liked the prequels or action
movies can have high expectations. you won't be disappointed.

Did you like how they put the traditional story in Casino Royal and the sequels in a modern setting or did you more liked the traditional approach with Pierce Brosnan?

11
Kommentare:

Quantam of Solace was not a bad movie but it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. Skyfall represents maturity and growth and we all know that with age, comes wisdom. In SKYFALL that wisdom lends its weight to what is without question one of the most exciting and emotionally charged adventures the series has ever seen.

Like i said in my review. This movie was a modern version of Bond, which managed to stay true to its roots.

[spoiler] We got Q again, a manly M and his secretary. We also saw a car that shoots and many other typical Bond stuff. The only things that lacked were the sex scenes (which i don't find that necessary) and a new gadget. A gun which responds to finger prints wasn't original enough in that case.[/spoiler]

I'm not a music critic in any sense, but the song didn't fit that well. I never had the feeling that it had anything unique to it, something i would remember. Even the radio station around didn't played it that often. I just heard it one time on the day it was official released to the press but never again. My guess is that only a few people would rank it high in a "Bond Title Music Ranking", but thats for everyone to decide.

Nice review Patrick. I had a great time with this movie but I didn’t fall in love with it as much as I have with the older ones and Casino Royale as well. Still, a great Bond movie that has me excited for what’s to come next for Bond.

Did you re-watch Casino Royale? Many say that it was a great movie but my guess is that it was just something new at that time. A dirty Bond, a new Bond. My guess is that re-watching it would make you less like it. I would say that in a direct comparison that Skyfall would win against Casino Royale and of course against Quantum of Solace.

That you love the older ones could be a bit nostalgic or just that you love the different style. The old ones were more about elegance and the almighty true hero. The newer ones are more about a human with flaws who has nothing else left than risking his life for his country.

For me, Pierce was a great Bond, but times have to change, and my sons have both seen Skyfall & rate it one of the best. Maybe that's the secret of Bond's success: to change with each generation, yet still keep enough tradition to draw the oldies in:)

i also would rate Skyfall as the best, just because Daniel Craig is a agent who can be killed, who can be broken. On the other hand the villians motivation is a different one as "rule the world", it felt more personal. The biggest reason for me is that it feels like the Dark Knight, as Joker and Batman had their Showdown, just that it is Bond in this one.

The success shows that the next one will follow the same style and we won't get a old fashioned one in the next years. I mean they made as much money with skyfall as with all bosnan ones counted together. It may sucks for traditionalist but Bond needs to keep changing to keep up with recent trends, otherwise it would have died a slowly death.